My child wants to buy a phone like his friends, what should parents do?

Buying an expensive or cheap phone for a school-age child is a concern for many parents - Photo: MAY TRANG

Some people firmly say no to fancy phones, forcing their children to use cheap phones. Some people give their parents' old phones to their children to use temporarily. Some people indulge their children and are willing to buy them fancy phones.

Pamper your child, change to a fancy phone

Since her son was in 9th grade until now in 12th grade, every year Ms. Diem Hanh (39 years old, living in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) has changed her son's phone to the latest model, costing tens of millions.

Ms. Hanh said that sometimes her child brought his phone into class and was caught by the teacher, but because she loved her child, she rarely scolded him.

"When I come home, my eyes are glued to my phone screen. I surf the internet, watch videos , play games, edit photos...", she complained.

In 7th grade, her daughter also uses a phone worth more than 10 million VND. With enough Facebook and TikTok accounts, she often records videos to "live a virtual life" as she admits.

Many times, she was frustrated because her child did not listen and kept focusing on the phone, so she scolded him. Then he continued to do the same. Unfortunately, she did not realize that the problem partly came from her always spoiling her child, and loudly scolded her: "You are such a show-off!"

Ms. Hanh's case is not rare. Many parents are even willing to buy their children phones worth 20 - 30 million VND so that their children can "keep up with their friends".

Thu Hien (38 years old, kindergarten teacher in Hoc Mon district) has a daughter in 11th grade. She said that her daughter used to use her old phone. But since the summer of 9th grade, she bought her daughter a smartphone worth more than 20 million VND.

"Buy it once and use it forever, so I might as well buy a good one," she explained.

Last summer, her child whined and whined again, demanding that she change to a newer phone. "He said his current phone was slow and freezing. But I saw him still surfing the internet just fine."

Similarly, Ms. M's child used her old iPhone 5 in 9th grade with the promise that if she passed the 10th grade exam, a good school would reward her with an iPhone 12. However, the child always complained that "old phones often lag" and "none of my friends use this type anymore".

So, when her child just got into a "famous" high school, she was overjoyed and immediately bought a fancy phone as promised.

"Now all day long, my child just hugs his phone all day and night and plays games with friends. Every time I talk about it, he gets angry and wants to skip school. I really regret it now," Ms. M. shared.

Buying an expensive or cheap phone for your child depends on your financial situation and needs. You should not buy a fancy phone for your child just to please them - Photo: MAY TRANG

Buy a phone based on your child's age.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen (44 years old, living in Go Vap district) also has a daughter studying in grade 11. She and her husband bought their daughter a phone worth nearly 5 million VND for easy communication.

Just now, my child said he wanted to buy a better phone, but I explained to him that when he goes to college and his needs increase, I will buy him a new phone.

According to Ms. Tuyen, when buying a phone for their child, parents should be careful and guide their child on how to use it properly. Parents should discuss with their child the time of use during the day and, if necessary, ask their child to commit to using it for the right purpose.

Having two children in primary and high school, Mr. Minh Tam (48 years old, living in Phu Nhuan district) shared that he should buy a suitable phone based on his children's age and needs.

Accordingly, primary school children should not use phones. "Children of this age are picked up and dropped off by their families and do not need to contact anyone. Teachers can just text their parents to call them," he said.

According to Mr. Tam, children at this age are very curious. Giving them a phone with internet connection will put them at risk of finding a world of useless, violent games...

From his experience, he believes that when children enter secondary school, they should only use a phone with the function of listening and calling. The purpose is for children to contact their parents and exchange lessons with friends.

However, in the final years of secondary school, students need to access the internet to find study materials, take transfer exams, etc., so the old phone is no longer suitable.

Not to mention, this age has psychological changes, likes to show off, likes to show off. Therefore, parents can buy their children a smartphone with reasonable price, full of functions, should not waste money buying expensive ones.

"When your child passes high school and starts to grow up, the decision on what phone to use should be left to the child, parents only give advice. Buying a high-end or low-end phone for your child depends on the parents' financial ability. The main thing is to remind them to avoid them becoming too dependent and neglecting their studies," said Mr. Tam.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/con-muon-sam-dien-thoai-bang-ban-bang-be-cha-me-phai-lam-gi-20240923145031251.htm